Visitors to this year’s Aboyne Highland Games will have more space in their sporrans as online ticket sales for the popular annual event have been introduced.
Advanced ticket sales for this August’s event on Royal Deeside have been brought in in response to changing consumer buying behaviour and to improve efficiency at entry gates on games day. The digital passes will mean that visitors do not need to fumble about in the bottom of their sporrans for loose change to pay for entry tickets.
Tickets purchased online cost £11.50 plus booking fee for an adult and £3 plus booking fee for children over the age of five years old. Children under the age of five will continue to be admitted free of charge. People ordering tickets online will receive a QR code that will be scanned on entry to the games field.
As a special offer, organisers have launched an early bird discount for visitors purchasing digital tickets. No booking fee will be charged on the first 2,000 tickets sold online, providing a modest saving for visitors on the cost of adult and child tickets.
In addition to purchasing tickets online, visitors can also buy copies of the event’s souvenir programme at a discounted rate. Copies of the programme can then be collected at the games.
Tickets will be available at the gates on the day, with debit card or cash payments accepted. Entry prices on games day will be £13 for adults and £4 for children over the age of five.
Taking place on Saturday, 6 August, on the Village Green, Aboyne, Aboyne Highland Games is one of the highlights of the Aberdeenshire summer events calendar. Now in its 155th year, the games welcomes up to 10,000 visitors from around the world to enjoy a programme of 95 traditional events, which includes Highland Dancing, solo piping and fiddle competitions, pipe bands, light and heavy athletics, tug o’ war and a hill race.
Crowds watch the massed bands at the start of the 2019 Aboyne Highland Games (Photo: Harry Scott / Deeside Camera Club)
Alistair Grant, chairman of Aboyne Highland Games, said’Aboyne Highland Games has always moved with the times and the introduction of online ticket sales is further illustration of this. It reflects how consumer purchasing has changed in recent years and increases efficiency and security for everyone. Plus, it gets rid of that awkward rummage about at the bottom of a sporran for loose change, where you end up removing the contents to get hold of the coins.
‘Tickets will continue to be available on the gates on games day, just as they have since an admission fee was first introduced back in 1920. Where possible, I would encourage people to go digital with their tickets this year and save a little bit of money in the process – especially with the early bird discount.
‘Everyone involved with Aboyne Highland Games is looking forward to welcoming people back to the games this August. With all the traditional events, around 80 trade stands showcasing local produce and crafts, the popular Clan Village and a funfair, it really is a great summer day out for all the family.’
Founded in 1867, Aboyne Highland Games is a traditional Scottish Highland Games held annually on the first Saturday in August. The Aberdeenshire event, held under the patronage of Granville Gordon, the 13th Marquis of Huntly, attracts crowds of up to 10,000 people each year. Featuring a programme of traditional highland games events, including highland dancing, tossing the caber, piping and fiddle competitions, the event on the town’s green attracts visitors from around the world and makes an important contribution to the local Deeside economy.
For further information, or to purchase digital tickets for the 2022 Aboyne Highland Games, visit www.aboynegames.com and click on ‘Buy Tickets’.
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